Cheap Snacks for People on the Go

by Alice C. Woodhouse
June 09, 2009

Are you one of those people who don't have time to relish a good breakfast because you're in a rush? Love to have a good snack to munch on during office breaks but don't want to spend too much? Want to have fast and cheap food? Here are tips to help you make your own snacks fast and easy.

Fantastic Sandwiches

This one's a no-brainer, but some might think that this is the most boring snack anybody's ever going to bring in a brown bag. College students almost live on their sandwich maker, panini press, or even a griddler. Frugal ideas call for frugal measures! You should try it sometime!

Is this snack boring? I think not! There are a hundred kind of sandwiches you can make, and it can save a lot of money! These snacks often have repeating ingredients so you don't have to get groceries each and every time you think of a new kind of sandwich to make. There's the classic grilled cheese; also cheesesteak sandwich made of leftover steak, cheese and pepper; roast beef sandwich topped with cheddar for good measure; healthy veggie sandwiches comprising of cheese, tomatoes, mushroom, and sweet onions; the favorite pizza pocket bursting with gooey mozzarella, topped with pepperoni and drizzled with leftover pasta sauce. Pick a favorite or two, vary the kind of sandwiches you bring every three days and you have a fantastic snack to cut cost, and which you're never going to get bored of!

As Healthy As A Salad

Making a good garden salad doesn't take more than 3 minutes to make and you can enjoy a healthy and filling snack. Keep salad staples in your fridge all the time, as the ingredients usually are cheap and easy to find. Shred lettuce, slice up onions, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, celery or basically anything you want to include. Store in a cool, dry spot in your fridge. Take it to lunch in a ziploc bag or small container. Simply pour dressing or apple cider vinegar when you're ready to eat!

All Rice

White rice is soft and chewy while brown rice is dry and has a wonderful earthy aroma. Rice is very versatile and very cheap! There are also hundreds of ways you can fix yourself a great dish and more. There are office workers who eat rice almost every work week because rice can last up to 3 to 4 days with proper storage. Imagine having not to worry what you're going to cook and saving money along the way!

A rice cooker is basically all you need when you're cooking rice. When it's done, you can jazz it up with BBQ sauce while it's still warm, add leftover chicken, sprinkle with chopped spring onions and you're good to go. You can also pair rice with a can of Campbells chili for $1.50, or a $1 can of Progresso Minestrone soup. With rice and any of your your favorite soup, you can even stretch the dish for two meals.

Living on Bread Alone

Huge fan of bread rejoice! Not only does bread fill you up in no time, it is inexpensive and can last for about 5 days tops even sitting on your counter. Use bread for a quick sandwich; toast it and slobber with jelly; make quick and great tasting French toasts with it using milk, egg yolk, cinnamon; or make garlic toasts that smell like heaven.

If you're a bread addict, you might have a lot of day-old bread lying around. Stretch your food dollar by making bread salad with just a little bit of onions, basil, carrots, tomatoes and bread sprinkled with vinaigrette. You can also moisten your bread and add it to your meat loaf to make a larger meal!

Nothing is cheaper than using something that you have lying around, right? Save money by brown bagging your lunch and snacks. This helps you stay away from both restaurants and office cafeteria, as well as the vending machine that sucks the money out of your pockets!